• West Memphis 3 released on Alfred plea after 18 years in prison
    7 replies, posted
[quote]ATLANTA -- The three men known as the "West Memphis 3," who have been imprisoned for 18 years for a notorious 1993 child-murder case, have won their freedom in an Arkansas courtroom after new evidence arose casting doubt on their original convictions. In an agreement with prosecutors, the three men - Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin - pleaded guilty to the murders of three 8-year-old boys in May 1993, but are able to claim they are innocent, an arrangement known as an "Alford plea." The three men were released Friday after serving sentences of 18 years plus credit for time served. "Today's proceeding allows the defendants the freedom of speech to say they are innocent, but the fact is, they just plead guilty," Scott Ellington, district prosecuting attorney for Craighead County, Ark., said in a prepared statement. The case of the West Memphis 3 - teenagers when arrested - became a cause celebre in music and Hollywood circles as questions emerged about their trial, in which prosecutors argued that the suspects, who favored black clothing and heavy metal music, murdered the boys as part of a satanic ritual. At one point, Misskelley confessed to police that he, Echols and Baldwin had attacked, raped and murdered the second-graders. Supporters said the confession was false and coerced, and noted that Misskelley is mentally disabled. Since then, the Arkansas Supreme Court determined that DNA evidence found at the scene "conclusively excluded" the three, and attorneys for the men had asked for a new hearing to consider new evidence.[/quote] [url]http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/19/3848964/west-memphis-3-are-freed-after.html[/url] [quote]The Alford plea is a guilty plea in criminal court where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence. Under the Alford plea, the defendant admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.[/quote] For anyone who doesn't know about this case, the Wiki article pretty much covers it: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three[/url] The most frustrating part is that, despite them acknowledging that no DNA of the teenage boys was found on the scene, they refuse to search for any other suspects. Essentially they're saying, "well we got 18 years out of these 3, why bother searching for the guy(s) who actually did it?" Apologies if someone already made a thread on this; I searched and found nothing mentioning West Memphis 3. And never mind the misspelling of Alford.
This is [I]exactly[/I] why I'm against the death penalty, I just don't trust any judicial system enough to let it decide whether a man lives or dies.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand it might be good they're free - on the other they might have actually been guilty, in which case 3 murderers have just been set free to do it again.
it's about fucking time
If they didn't kill the children, then who did?
[QUOTE=Bat-shit;31898632]If they didn't kill the children, then who did?[/QUOTE] maybe if the cops hadn't been so busy coercing & threatening these 3 into confessing to a crime that there was very little evidence to suggest they committed, they could have found out who did.
[QUOTE=Lachz0r;31898650]maybe if the cops hadn't been so busy coercing & threatening these 3 into confessing to a crime that there was very little evidence to suggest they committed, they could have found out who did.[/QUOTE] Maybe. Not that it matters anymore.
I'm slightly more disturbed by the fact that it was argued that because they listen to metal and wear black, they took part in a satanic ritual. Those three factors (liking heavy metal, wearing black and being a satanist) should have no relevance to them being picked out for a murder allegation.
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